Blog Archives

Losing Ground & Gaining Perspective

04.23.2019 | By The Rev. Fred Devall, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church Metairie

Flying over the Mississippi River Delta brought back a flood of family stories. My grandfather spent some of his childhood living on a houseboat near Port Eads. His father was a civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Both men helped build the levees that I hope will soon host the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. Many hunting and fishing stories, theirs and mine, surfaced. As we flew down the river on the east bank, we could see the Caernarvon …

Last week, the new House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis held its first hearing, entitled “Generation Climate: Young Leaders Urge Climate Action Now.” The committee was created earlier this year to help develop innovative policy solutions to address climate change impacts, with Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA 6th district) serving as ranking member. And, once again, Louisiana’s coastal land loss crisis was a main focus of discussion. For its first hearing, the committee brought in four young leaders and activists …

Coastal restoration groups urge officials to redouble efforts to save time (NEW ORLEANS, LA – March 20, 2019) Today the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) announced that the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion is facing a delay of at least several months in completing the permitting phase of this keystone restoration project. In response to these timeline updates, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, a coalition of national and local conservation groups issued the following statement: “Today’s news comes less than …

A recent study from Tulane University made headlines last month when it suggested that relative sea level rise – rising seas combined with the sinking or disappearance of land within a specific region – may be underestimated in river deltas across the world. The study specifically looked at measurements of relative sea level rise from tide gauges, instruments typically anchored deep in the ground that record changes in water surface elevation. Researchers concluded that tide gauges alone couldn’t accurately measure …

Second Annual Cook-off for the Coast Triples Last Year’s Funds Raised This blog has also been published at MerauxFoundation.org and The St. Bernard Voice. We all know our coast and wetlands are in significant danger, but what can we as individuals do about it? Well, true to St. Bernard’s heritage of amazing food and caring people, crowds dug in at the second annual Cook-off for the Coast at the Meraux Foundation’s Docville Farm on February 9th. Cook teams from throughout the …

WELCOME TO OUR STAFF Q&A SERIES WHERE YOU CAN MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND RESTORE THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA! TODAY WE’RE CHATTING WITH Matt Phillips, outreach coordinator with the national wildlife federation AND RESTORE THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA. CLICK HERE TO MEeT MORE OF OUR TEAM. Hi, Matt! Tell us a little about what you do with Restore the Mississippi River Delta? I’m the coordinator for Restore the Mississippi River Delta’s outreach program, which means I make sure all members of our outreach …

A river runs through Plaquemines Parish, but it’s not just any river. It’s one of the largest in the world – the Mighty Mississippi. The river and its distributaries built Plaquemines Parish over the last 1,000 years, depositing sediment and building thousands of acres of highly productive wetlands. Levees, built along the river for navigation and flood protection, have helped communities in the parish to flourish but have also nearly completely cut off the river from the delta it once …

Louisiana has a $50+ billion Coastal Master Plan to protect and restore its coast, and a number of projects are underway or completed, thanks to the dedication of billions of dollars of penalties that followed the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. Over all, the state has currently identified $9 billion to $12 billion of the funds needed to fully implement the plan, which is a great start, but far short of the funding need over time. That sets a clear goal …

Restore the Mississippi River Delta and ESSA Technologies, Ltd. recently hosted a workshop for state and federal agencies and others working on the Environmental Impact Statement and adaptive management program for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. Experts with decades of experience developing adaptive management plans for large-scale water resource infrastructure projects presented insights and lessons learned from projects around North America, including the California Bay-Delta, Missouri River, Platte River and Okanagan River in Canada. Adaptive management is not a new concept, …

WELCOME TO OUR STAFF Q&A SERIES WHERE YOU CAN MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND RESTORE THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA! TODAY WE’RE CHATTING WITH Katie Gruzd, Campaign MANAGER WITH Environmental defense fund AND RESTORE THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA. CLICK HERE TO MEET MORE OF OUR TEAM. Hi Katie! Tell us a little about what you do with EDF and Restore the Mississippi River Delta? As Campaign Manager for Restore the Mississippi River Delta, I work on internal project management and organization. Many people don’t realize …

Originally posted by Audubon Louisiana on July 16, 2018. Last month, I had the opportunity to represent Audubon Louisiana in Aspen, Colorado, at the annual Aspen Ideas Festival. Produced by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic, the Aspen Ideas Festival is a gathering of leaders from across industries, nonprofit organizations and government aimed at tackling some of the biggest challenges of the day. Over 3,000 attendees from around the world descended on Aspen “to engage in deep and inquisitive discussions of the …

WELCOME TO OUR STAFF Q&A SERIES WHERE YOU CAN MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND RESTORE THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA! TODAY WE’RE CHATTING WITH Ryan chauvin, Digital Marketing and Communication manager with national audubon society AND RESTORE THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA. CLICK HERE TO MEET MORE OF OUR TEAM. Hi, Ryan! Tell us a little about what you do with Audubon and Restore the Mississippi River Delta? Hi! I’m the Digital Marketing and Communication Manager for Restore the Mississippi River Delta. That’s a lot of …

A round-up of what’s new in Louisiana coastal restoration 1) Restoring the coast for PEOPLE. In NPR’s “Louisiana Wants To Use The Muddy Mississippi To Build Up Its Coast,” Travis Lux chats with coastal supporter and Plaquemines Parish resident, Albertine Kimble, about the need for sediment diversions—calling them “the salvation of Plaquemines Parish.” Watch our own interview with Albertine on the Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion projects below. Albertine Kimble, Plaquemines Parish Resident 2) Restoring the coast for WILDLIFE. David …

The State of the Coast conference brings policymakers, stakeholders and technical experts together to share their research and vision for coastal Louisiana’s future in the face of our land loss crisis. Amongst the efforts focused on preserving the future of coastal Louisiana and its communities are researchers focused on preserving its cultural heritage. Our cultural heritage is spread out across the coast in the form of many different cultural resources: historic buildings, traditional cultural properties, sacred sites, archaeological sites and …

2019 Coastal Annual Plan dedicates over $600 million to coastal projects across the state (BATON ROUGE, La. – May 11, 2018) Today, the Fiscal Year 2019 Coastal Annual Plan passed unanimously on the Louisiana Senate floor—its last stop during this 2018 regular session. This plan is the annual funding vehicle that supports the implementation of the 2017 Coastal Master Plan, the 50-year vision for priority coastal restoration and risk-reduction projects to restore and protect Louisiana’s coast. National and local conservation …

Coastal Louisiana needs your help now more than ever. Sign up to learn more about how you can get involved and help protect America’s wetlands for the future. We’ll be in touch when opportunities to take action arise, when there are relevant events or volunteer opportunities in your area or when we have important news to share.